The article, Firefox Search Engine Cautions, Recommendations, has been updated to support, at least partially, Firefox version 57+. A big thanks goes to ‘nohamelin’, the developer of the XML Search Engines Exporter/Importer ad-on, who has made available a couple of scripts to import and export the search engine plugins in Firefox version 57+.

Back in the day, Firefox was sort of a hackers power browser that fit a niche market. It was probably the most tweakable mainstream web browser on the planet for both geeks and average users alike. Although it is still highly customizable, it has become less so since Mozilla decided to terminate support for so-called “legacy” add-ons and replace them with WebExtensions of the same type as used by Google Chrome. Matter of fact, Firefox has become a Google Chrome clone as far as i’m concerned and some of us — a core Firefox audience that liked running something different and something that wasn’t ‘Googlized’ — didn’t want anything to do with Google, much less their Chrome web browser.

In its [not so] slow, steady decline and separation from its core values, Mozilla has dumbed-down Firefox to the point where it is hardly recognizable and changed its add-on API several times, thus forcing developers to rewrite their code in order to comply with yet another new standard. The developer of the much loved Search WP extension had this to say:

I’d love to support Firefox 57 (with all my extensions) but

1) Webextensions are just *too* limited. You simply can’t do anything useful with them until somebody adds an API just for you. It already starts with the most basic functionality of SearchWP: there does not seem to be a way to modify the search bar.

2) Mozilla ruthlessly breaking all existing extensions on purpose and removing customization possibilities with every new version of Firefox made me loose trust in the foundation and the browser itself – I’m not willing to spend my spare time on a project that has set a course that goes against everything Firefox once stood for.

And the stupidity continues…

For some time Mozilla has been packaging extensions with Firefox in the form of system add-ons, or “features” as Mozilla calls them. Not only is the option to uninstall these add-ons absent from the user interface, but most people aren’t even aware they exist since they’re hidden from the Add-Ons panel (if you want to know more about system add-ons and how to remove them, read the article, Firefox Configuration Guide for Privacy Freaks and Performance Buffs).

In its latest burst of stupidity, Mozilla is now installing yet another add-on without consulting users, but this time, to their undeserved credit, they have made it removable apparently. ‘Looking Glass‘ appears to be some kind of metrics collection add-on disguised as an augmented reality game created by the PUG Experience Group, whoever the hell they are, and it is part of a series of “Shield Studies” conducted by Mozilla. To see what studies Mozilla has foisted upon you that you didn’t agree to, enter about:studies in the address bar and then about:preferences#privacy to opt out. Better yet, stop using the Mozilla version of Firefox altogether.

I no longer suggest using Firefox, at least not the version distributed by Mozilla. If you want Firefox with the privacy disrespecting garbage removed, consider using Waterfox, which is a more privacy-centric, 64 bit fork of Firefox that will apparently continue to support XUL (legacy) extensions in addition to the newer WebExtensions. Some of the features of Waterfox are:

Disabled Encrypted Media Extensions (EME)

Removed Pocket

Removed Telemetry

Removed data collection

Removed startup profiling

Allow running of all 64-Bit NPAPI plugins

Allow running of unsigned extensions

Removal of Sponsored Tiles on New Tab Page

UPDATE: Mozilla apologizes.

On 18-Dec., after many users complained about the inclusion of the Looking Glass add-on, for which almost nothing was known at the time it was distributed, Mozilla published an apology, moved the add-on to the Mozilla add-on repository and published the source code. The post opened with the following nonsensical statement which raises more questions than it answers:

Over the course of the year Firefox has enjoyed a growing relationship with the Mr. Robot television show and, as part of this relationship, we developed an unpaid collaboration to engage our users and viewers of the show in a new way: Fans could use Firefox to solve a puzzle as part of the alternate reality game (ARG) associated with the show.

Does this sound remotely like anything that should be included in an internet web browser? What is the nature of Mozilla’s relationship with Mr. Robot? We already know that Mozilla has a habit of adding unnecessary functionality through its inclusion of 3rd party services for monetary gain and using its relationships with many privacy destroying corporations, such as Google, to monetize necessary functionality, yet they packaged the Looking Glass add-on with Firefox for no other reason other than, what? They like Mr. Robot? They wanted to make sure you weren’t bored by giving you a game to play? Utter bullshit. And why wasn’t the source code published before the add-on was shipped? And how do we know that the published code is identical to the unpublished code?

The rollout did not meet the standards to which we hold ourselves causing concern that was surfaced through our Firefox community.

Yes it did because Mozilla sacrificed its standards long ago. The only reason they published this apology is because enough users complained.

We received feedback regarding the transparency of the rollout and the processes that govern our auto-install mechanism for add-ons. In response we immediately started our internal review, […]

Good thing most users have no clue about the several system add-ons and “features” that ship with Firefox which are forcefully installed, activated, not easily uninstalled, and are used to collect data. Of course we know that no internal review will be performed to address this glaring privacy issue.

We’re sorry for the confusion and for letting down members of our community. While there was no intention or mechanism to collect or share your data or private information […]

When one considers exactly what Mozilla defines as “user data” and “private information”, one realizes how hollow this misleading claim rings. If they’re so concerned about their users, why aren’t they concerned about the data that is still being collected by the forcefully installed system add-ons of which users are largely unaware? Why aren’t these add-ons removed and placed in the add-on repository?

A bit more content was added to the Firefox User Interface Customization page, including a possible fix for those who are annoyed with the Firefox window not starting in a maximized state when it was maximized when closed (hint: the problem has to do with the privacy.resistFingerprinting preference).

Several years ago i was investigating a subject that i have come to call ‘the child torture for fun and profit industry’. If you want to know more about that, search the web for keywords like “WWASPS”, “Robert Litchfield”, “Mitt Romney and Robert Litchfield”, “Marvin Litchfield” and “teen behavioral modification”. As a result of my research i became aware of how widespread child trafficking and child pornography is and from my brief study of the Comet Ping Pong, it is blatantly obvious to me that there was far more to the PizzaGate story than what the mainstream media was divulging.

In this interview, a guy who claims to have broken into one of the Comet Ping Pong servers provides a detailed account of what he found and what has happened to him as a result of contacting law enforcement and the media, including an incident where a man dressed in camouflage and hiding in the bushes outside of his home was arrested by police at 3:30 AM. The whistle-blower/hacker claims that the server he compromised is connected to a worldwide network of servers (he mentions Berlin) that host and apparently sell child pornography. He says he has contacted the D.C. police, the NYPD, the FBI, the mainstream media and the alternative media and in virtually every case it appears no one is interested in following up on the evidence he said he has provided.

His story is very interesting and there is no doubt in my mind that it is authentic. Listen for yourself: